As always, she retained a very strong hope that Shiranui would rise to the occasion. She had always been intrigued by the Yamata clan and their abilities. Also, during Shiranui's last bout, Rachel had watched her very carefully. She had been very impressed. Rachel had discerned that Shiranui had unlocked a deeper and more savage level of her clan's innate abilities.
Therefore, while the crowd foamed at the thought of Sabrina, Rachel remained hopeful that Shiranui would show up and show out.
Unfortunately, much to the disappointment of her patron, Shiranui didn't appear. Rachel kept her eyes and spies fixed on all entrances, hoping that Shiranui would appear out of the blue. But nothing, came, not even her shadow. Trying to mask her agitation, she turned to the one person she knew who always had answers- Galen.
"I beg your pardon sir, but the Yamata girl seems to be unavailable, has anything happened."
"You haven't heard?"
"Heard what sir?"
"Well, apparently the lead teacher of that team has banned Shiranui from participating- on the grounds of her being too weak."
Rachel sighed aloud. This time, she couldn't hide the thick cloud of disappointment washed across her face.
"What a pity. Truly, this might have as well be over. If Shiranui isn't going to grace this match with her presence, then the exciting power-charged duel everyone is expecting definitely won't happen."
Galen replied her with some witty saying about keeping an open mind.
But Rachel wasn't listening. Shiranui and Sabrina represented the apex of this year's freshmen. If this showdown wasn't about them. Then it was already likely that Sabrina would clinch this year's championship.
Right on cue, about some few minutes after Rachel had made the observation on Shiranui's absence, the crowd began to grow restless after a very fruitless search the Yamata girl. Unlike Rachel who wasn't in the know at all, a lot of the students and teachers knew that Shiranui had been hospitalised over the past few hours. So, when they saw that she still hadn't shown up, they bursted into a fresh bout of gossipy chatter.
All across the stadium, from one end to another, everyone started to express their regrets. The disdain was all over their faces. No one was happy about the fact that fate had robbed them of a chance to see this once in a lifetime duel. In fact, the disappointment was so pronounced that a couple of people began to slip out of the venue. They had all been lured in by the seductive prospect of a power packed Shiranui-Sabrina match.
Next to Zavier, the unstable Nadia was seething with murderous rage. When she looked at the audience, she saw the disappointment in their eyes. Like she wasn't what she was expecting. Even though she had proven herself in battle several times over, it didn't matter to them. How dare they look down on her in that manner? The crowd was expecting the Yamata girl, and they made it obvious to Nadia that she wasn't good enough.
"Look at them, a bunch of vipers! Look at how they scorn us! If they were so worthy, why didn't they try to make it to the finals?!"
Zavier who understood the nature of the outside world knew that Nadia probably wouldn't have said that if she had seen Sabrina fight. This was what had prompted him to continue watching the match long after Shiranui had been injured- he needed to gain a close insight of the enemy he and his team were about to face. So far, it had proven to be a very sound decision.
Part of what made this final battle so interesting wasn't just the fact that it had all the ingredients of an exceptional joust, it was also the fact that there were all sorts of characters present. A lot of the students and teachers who had been knocked out by either Calista's team or Sabrina showed up with revenge boiling in their blood. Amongst the list of distinguished personalities who definitely wanted Sabrina in the ground was none other than the capricious, vindictive Wallice.
The lead teacher still hadn't recovered from the shocking defeat that Sabrina had dealt her and her students. The proud efficient team had been served a big bowl of a debasing defeat, and what made it worse was that everyone knew Sabrina hadn't even actually put in any effort. It was the very definition of an unforeseeable variable. For someone who thrived on making lengthy preparations and elaborate plans, Wallice had been blindsided by the unknown variable that was Sabrina.
Like everyone else, Wallice had assumed that Shiranui was the real dragon here. So, she had based all her plans on facing her. Unfortunately, a much bigger monster emerged from their very own flanks, a monster that devoured Gabby's dragon like it was a paper boat in a vast ocean. Even now, as Wallice watched, she still found it difficult to accept the fact that this was indeed her reality. she had done all she could. And yet, here she was, sitting on the sidelines as champions went at it.
Every other loser had recovered and accepted their fate, but not Wallice.
Seated in the audience, totally dislodged from any connections or hopes of winning, Wallice continued to glare at Sabrina like she had stolen something from her. Sabrina actually did steal something from her, but it was perfectly legal and done within the confinements of the rules. But it was far from Wallice to concede. In her head, she played back the scene over and over where she had foolishly agreed to a three on one battle against a young girl.
In retrospect, she realised what a serious mistake that had been. What had she been thinking?! Wallice knew herself, and because she did, she knew that that particular scene would haunt her forever in her nightmares. Like a big baby, Wallice sulked and sank into an even deeper bout of depression.
Camouflaged by the sea of spectators to her left and right, Wallice was in the perfect place to observe Sabrina carefully without having to mask her facial expression. All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind. Wallice still hadn't cracked the mystery of the identities of the three mysterious high school students from the first round. Her swift vindictive mind began to connect the dots that weren't even there in the first place.
"Gabby, you were there during the first round…" it wasn't a question, she was merely laying the ground for the accusation to come, "Do you think that maybe this Sabrina girl was among the three mysterious high school students? She does fit the profile doesn't she? Her anonymity for one is really disturbing. How does one this powerful stay hidden for so long?"
Gabby had already moved on from the loss. Although he didn't admit it (he would never), but he felt a bit relived that the pressure of having to win was all over. He knew that so far, he and his team mates' performance had been nothing but stellar. So, there definitely would be some favourable scores from the judges. But he understood that Wallice was having a hard time processing this failure. It was outside her character to fail. That was why she was grasping for straws.
In a patient tone, he replied her objectively;
"No Miss Wallice. I don't think Sabrina was one of them. I was there, and I still remember the peculiar aura about those three. It didn't feel like they were three separate entities, they were so much in sync with each other. Sabrina's vibe is completely different. It's obvious she's a lone wolf. She doesn't seem like someone who plays well with others."
"So you don't think that there's even a slight chance that she might be one of them?"
Gabby shook his head. "No ma'am…" he made as if he wanted to say something, but pursed his lips and hesitated at the last minute.
Wallice's quick eyes picked up on his reluctance, and like a bird of prey, she honed in on that hesitation and preyed on it;
"You know better than to hold out on me Gabby! Whatever it is you've got to say, you'd better spit it out right now!"
That was all the encouragement Gabby needed.
"Actually, there's one other thing…it's not like I can really say for sure, but I had the feeling that those mysterious high school students were all boys. I don't think there was a single female in their midst."
Wallice was taken aback. She was a bit disappointed that the trail that was supposed to link Sabrina ran cold. But on another level, she was actually amused with this new piece of information. Gabby wasn't just the kind to go blabbering his mouth anyhow. She knew that the reason he had held off from telling her this earlier on was because he wasn't sure. It was clear that he had given it much thought, and was therefore convinced of his claim of them being all boys.
The sound of the judges calling the finalists pulled Wallice out of her own conspiracy theories, reminding her that a very interesting battle was about to go down.
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